Zac: Okay, welcome to another episode of Built by Liquidation, a reseller podcast where we teach you how to resell using liquidation. And not only that, we help you get your money out of liquidation and into some more sustainable investments. Today we've got Mike Rice on, the holy hustler from TikTok, owner of Mike Rice Auction House in Meridian, Mississippi, if I remember right. I almost have your intro memorized from your TikToks. So introduce yourself, Mike. Tell us Who you are, what you do, and I guess how you got into liquidation in the first place. Michael Rice: Yeah, so my name is Mike Rice. I'm in a little town of Meridian, Mississippi. And man, we just I was working a regular job like most everybody else and just thought, hey, there's gotta be something more than this. just kind of hustling on the on the weekends. Always had it in my blood. When I was a kid, you know, I would go sell candy and stuff at school. got me a little flea market booth, started flipping stuff from yard sales and man, we just blew up. me and my wife started on Amazon. Back when Amazon was good and they weren't just a bully. And you know, we were selling and like Friday evening, I'd get off work, we'd hit the road, and we'd go what we call Walmart hopping. And we'd just go retail arbitrage, man, and tear it up. And then I was making fifty five grand a year at a job and I thought I was doing it, and then I looked at my my online sales and I don't we had made like a hundred grand on Amazon and I was like, come on, man, if I could do this on the weekends, it's it's time to quit. So Anyway, we started out with the flea markets and we noticed we were getting stuff that maybe would sell better on eBay and Amazon. So we branched out to eBay and Amazon. the flea market's kind of always been a thing. and and you know, now we've progressed into you know, w we're more in a clean case pack other than like just tr liquidation truckloads, like you would think. I don't buy, you know, ma maybe a few truckloads a year. but you know, that's kind of where we're at. I'm a youth pastor. I've I've you know, got four kids and and a family and you know, I I've built this life on liquidation and it's it's done really well for us so far. Zac: it's so funny. You said two things that I've like said before and one, I've built it all on liquidation. So like I don't care how difficult this industry gets and how like annoyed I get at it, like I just said this with Mike Levine the other day, like I owe it all to liquidation. Like what we've built could not have been done for us without liquidation. college dropout, I couldn't do it, like pregnant at seventeen, like I made every mistake you possibly could and you know, we came to the other side and d we've done extremely well just like you have too and it's it's funny to me you also said something that like I haven't thought about in years but the Walmart hopping thing, man, we used to do like twenty four hour runs where we would go to every Walm 'cause if you find something at one Walmart, it's usually at like all of your local ones and Michael Rice: Yeah. Zac: you gotta hit all. So we like I remember just nights we would spend just loading up the car with the clearance items and you know, now they have apps for all that stuff where it's you know, they take the fun out of it like you know, you what you're getting, everybody everybody knows about it now and it's definitely not the same as it was. But it it used to be a lot of fun. you know, there was no risk to it 'cause if didn't sell in thirty days you just you just took it back to Walmart and they you know, no questions asked. They would they would take it back. so you you s you mentioned you guys started you know, sourcing from the flea markets, eBay, Amazon, are you guys still doing the e commerce thing or have you kinda drifted away from it? You mentioned Amazon, you know, is different now. Michael Rice: Yeah, you know, so we we've we went straight from you know, obviously people started, you know, they're hearing my name, they're, you know, they're wanting to know where they can get the merchandise from. And so we just kind of leaned into wholesaling more than anything. And that really picked up. And then, you know, my wife was working a full-time job for me, basically. You know, we would go out on a Friday, all weekend we would spend picking up stuff at Walmart. And this is when Walmarts were 24 hours. You know, you could stay. I would just say, hey, where are we going? We're going to Florida. We're going to Louisiana. We're going to Georgia. You just pick a direction and we would go as hard as we could. And like you said, you know, those items were there and you were looking for that one specific item. You didn't even have to scan. And there were so many hidden clearance items that that no one knew about. And there wasn't a brick seek or know, any of these apps anymore. You know, the this stuff came about, you know, no Discords or nothing like that. So man, we were tearing them up and some of this stuff was selling at the flea markets and here and there. Well, then these these little local resellers at the auctions were they were all you know, they were getting on it. Like, hey, where can I get this stuff from? Cause I had stuff that nobody had, you know, it was new stuff. I mean, I was getting Ozark Trail 20 quart coolers for 10 bucks. I mean, I was Zac: Mm-hmm. Michael Rice: ripping them up. And the only problem was my supply was limited, so I had to figure out how do I get more of this stuff. So when I when I finally left my left my job, man, we just we stayed stay true to the flea markets. and then you know, we just kind of grew from there and then we eventually got our own business. So right now we're not doing any e commerce except for whatnot. We just jumped back on whatnot. it's done well for us. some days are better than others. And then we do a Facebook live sale. But as far as shipping it off to a to eBay or Amazon man or Walmart, they're bullies and I, you know, I'd rather not deal with them. Zac: For sure. So you mentioned you do the Facebook Live, so you know, every time I hear you on on on Facebook or TikTok it's my Christ auction. So are you still you said the Facebook auction, is that like a weekly thing? Is it straight to consumer or are you doing are you still doing a lot of wholesale stuff with that? Michael Rice: So we started the auctions, and we don't do as many auctions now as we used to, but we do a we do a wholesale auction every Thursday at our building and we do it on Zoom as well. But we, you know, the state of Mississippi, when COVID hit, state of Mississippi, we heard they were gonna start cracking down on the online auctions. So I went ahead and got my auctioneer license. And then you know, we just we started doing a Facebook live auction. We just put something on the screen and and people would bid it off, we'd start a timer. and you know, people they loved it. They didn't have to get out, they didn't have to shop. It's hot in Mississippi. Most of the warehouses you got are hot, you know, so they just shop from their house. so so we did that, and then you know, Facebook's been a really good platform for me. You know, I jumped on one day and said, What's up, guys? Mike Rice, Mike Restalk, so sell 70074 Street Dimes. I'm reading it, and you know, just messing around and and it's you know, it's catchy. Zac: Yeah. Michael Rice: And everybody that you that does social media is like, don't nobody cares about your name. Don't start with your name. And I and it's just like now I got little kids coming in in the store and they're like Might Rise, Might Rise Auctions. And then I was in Atlanta a couple couple about a year ago and like a little Chinese guy's like and I'm like, Yeah, that's me. So it's kind of called and you know, we've grown social media into you know, we're at like almost forty thousand followers, which is not a ton, but man, in in a little town of Meridian, Mississippi, dude, it's it's doing good for us and we're able to post whatever we you know we get. a truckload of water in. We could post it on Facebook and you know, we sell out in thirty minutes. It's great Zac: Yeah. Michael Rice: what what liquidation does. So Zac: No, it's I've watched your, you know, now that we've gotten into it a little bit more, we you know when I first started and I I tell people this, I'm like, I wish I'd have just like pushed for it, you know? Like I was on Facebook, we were doing the like with the palette sales, we were doing the lives every day. Like I was I had a social media presence. I didn't know what it meant and I didn't push for it. I didn't like maintain it and now that we're out of the palettes for a few years and I'm trying to I'm trying to build that presence back that I had. It's w it's way more difficult this time around because we don't do the palettes and so like the content is it's not as easy when you don't have product or you don't have a lot of different product. Like nobody cares about a thousand walking canes when I'm liquidating that. so I wish I have had of just kind of maintained that that social media. I just you know, I didn't realize how that was pre-COVID, right? So no one knew what was gonna happen with TikTok and you know and COVID and all that, and just every all of that blew up. but and there's so many similarities. As you just keep as you keep talking, there's so many similarities. We did the same thing when COVID hit. they were cracking down the auctions. I didn't I didn't end up getting my license, but we did the Facebook like we pivoted to Facebook Live auctions like every day because that's the only we couldn't get people to come in unless they were picking up. Like I just didn't want to or whatever, but it it the margins were so great. Like we were selling case like we were selling it by the case at that point. I mean it was just It was eight hours a day. We're we were we were rolling those auctions out and they started cr I don't know if somebody reported us towards the end, but like we got a call from the auction commission or something, like, you're not supposed to be doing this without a license. And I was like, dude, it's like this is how we're making money right now. So if you want to find me, go ahead, but I'm gonna keep on going. If you want me to, I can like not auction it off and I can ask for offers if you want me to call it that instead. And they never they never pursued anything. I think a lot stuff just kind of like you know let people survive but COVID really you know I tell I say this I think I've said this in every single podcast interview it COVID was like the best thing that happened to us and it's always like a terrible thing to say because you know it affected a lot of people negatively but like that blew us up and like we made so much money during that time period because you could sell any everything was selling and it was selling for high prices back when the costs were still fairly low. But to back up a little bit, I know you said you were working a job, $55,000 a year, Meridian, Mississippi. I don't know a ton about meridian, but I know Mississippi $55,000 probably goes a decent a decent way. what gave you the confidence to s to to quit? How nervous were you when you quit? And then if there's somebody watching that is on the fence, what's your advice to them on would you would you quit your job today? In this this the way the industry is right this second, would you still make the same call to quit your job or would you try to do it as a side hustle? Michael Rice: So so I hear everybody talking about the industry. And I sell in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, a little bit in Georgia, and I hear it all over. Either it's either feast or famine right now. And I know like truckload guys, they're it's tough right now. And I don't do truckloads. Truckloads is what is what boosted me up. Now I'm not gonna I'm liquidation truckloads are great. if you can get them right, if you know the source, but there's so many people out there. trying to cutthroat and make a hundred bucks here off of a whole load. but I'm gonna tell you, man, when we left, like I was called into the ministry and I was, I I had a guaranteed $55,000 a year, 401k, it was a private prison. And I was leaving that in to go to make $225 a week for this church that I was gonna work for. No insurance. I was driving a school bus for insurance, but it was kind of like, man, it was a God thing. He just laid it all out for me and he's like, hey, this This is gonna work. And I had no doubts about it then. I would continue I would do it again today. I tell you this, it's not about the industry. It you're gonna change and pivot whatever you gotta do if you're a hustler. If you if if it's in your blood and it's you know it's in your mind, just do it, man. Just jump the boat. You if you we all mess up in line. And I think I think somebody said the other day, it might have been on one of your podcasts, like that the success and failure look exactly the same until it doesn't, you know. so man, I would say jump out there. I got a butt a call from my buddy during COVID and I I'd already quit my job at this time. I think I quit in 2017. this was before COVID, like right before COVID, a couple months. And he's like, Hey, I got a truckload. You're gonna love this load. I was like, send it. I think it was like five or six grand. It was a staples load. I opened the back door, dude. It was a bunch of dented freaking filing cabs. I thought my guy had got me. fast forward, like four or five months from then that we're just kind of processing this COVID hits and this thing was loaded with like Lysol, toilet paper, all the stuff that everybody wanted. Man, we were selling rolls of toilet paper for a dollar at a flea market booth, man. It was it's freaking crazy. so would I quit liquidation today? Yes. Is it for everybody? I mean would I quit my job today? Yes. It's not for everybody. It like it's it's a hustle because like you you've been talking on on your podcast. I mean The liquidation industry is in trouble right now, but I'll tell you the the economy, how when the economy gets bad, my business gets good because everybody's always looking for a deal. you know, we were I I remember going out five o'clock in the morning and picking up stuff off the side of the road or going to yard sales and just repurposing that. And and that was like in the eight era when the economy dipped and everybody was wanting, they didn't want to go out and buy new, they wanted to go buy use and these these little flea when I call them flea markets, they're consignment stores. So You put your stuff in them, kind of like what you're doing, you're about to start doing. you put your stuff in them, you rent the booth, and then they get a c a commission off of it. And dude, now we've got I've got I think 15 booths across three states. I've got a girl full full-time-ish in a sprinter van, and that's all she does. She just comes to the warehouse, she shops for the where for the fleet markets, and you know, some of them are doing five or six hundred dollars a month, some of them are doing three to five thousand dollars a month. So And you multiply that by fifteen. I mean, it we're rocking and rolling. So you might not be doing the same thing you thought you were doing when you quit your job, but if if it's in you, if it's in your blood, bro, that nothing's gonna stop you. Nothing. Zac: No, you're right. And I think, you know, I think the people that fail in this business are the people that either don't or aren't willing to pivot. You know, when we first started We were selling baby clothes out of trash bags. That's what that's how we got started. it wasn't marketplace yet, it was just Facebook's like selling, buying and selling groups and people would always they'd get rid of their ba kids' baby clothes by the trash bag and we would we'd we'd pick up and we would we'd sort all the brands out. The brands would go on eBay and the rest would, you know, we'd we'd bundle it up, auction it off, and then we we learned about the palettes 'cause I was like, man, baby clothes are great, the margin's awesome, but like It's a big margin on a little sale, right? So like to build something that's it's not gonna be baby clothes. Michael Rice: Mm-hmm. Zac: and then we we found out about pallets. We actually went to freight auctions. I had four thousand dollars my bank account at I think I was I know I was seventeen at the time. I spent that. Like we had no money. So pregnant wife at home. I spent all this stuff on pallets, and I'm like, we're gonna make money on this in my parents' basement. that's where we started and now today, like, we sell closeouts. I mean we we get calls from all over the country, you know, looking for people that need like that they have product and they need someone that that can get rid of it for We've got a deal that we just closed up yesterday that we start next week's a thousand pallets of Home Depot. It was a just a liquidator like us and he he got sick and he can't move it and he needs someone like us to to come in and handle this big massive liquidation. So what I'm doing today is nothing what it looked like when I when I quit. I can't say quit my job because I worked for my dad until I started making too much money doing this and I was like, This is I'm gonna focus on this. but we're all willing to pivot and do the work. And I think when a lot of people just aren't. This this I'm gonna sell pallets or I'm gonna, you I'm gonna sell an ebay and then that that goes away and I don't want to sell on whatnot. That live selling's for losers. Like, it's not, you know, like maybe it's not your cup of tea, but if it's if it's between live selling on whatnot and going back to a regular job, I'm gonna sell on live on whatnot until that doesn't work for me and then I'm gonna pivot and I'm gonna find something else. Michael Rice: Yeah, the the person that I see failing the most in my business, and I deal with lot of these guys are going out to auctions and fleet markets and stuff like that. The guys that I see that's not succeeding are the ones that are still trying to balance a job with this with this and they're not they're it's not even a side hustle for They're they're wanting this to be their hustle, but they're Zac: Yeah. Michael Rice: still they're still holding on to that job and And at the end of the day, it's it's where is your faith at? Is your faith in a a boss that could fire you tomorrow, or is it in you? Because at you know, it when I wake up in the morning, I got four kids that are hungry. I got a wife that that she really likes to have a house with air conditioner. Like these Zac: Huh. Michael Rice: are the things that motivate me, dude. So, like, you know, it's it's I'm betting on myself. I'd rather bet on myself than another job, you know, and and that's just what it is, you know. So so if I've got to get up and You know, I saw you the other day, you were cutting grass. You know, it's like, man, this ain't my job, but it, you know, at the end of the day, it's gotta get done. And and dude, I'm right now I'm building a wall in one of my Airbnbs. So I don't know what I'm doing, but man, I I'm I'm gonna figure it out. And that's kind of how it was in this business. Is like, you know, I I just started buying stuff and people wanted it. And and I see people all the time, they they're opening up shops in their house. They're they got storage units out in their front yard. I mean, if the hustle is there. You're gonna make it a hundred percent. Nothing nothing's gonna stop you. Zac: And I love seeing people when they just get started and they're doing it out of their house and they're doing it out of the garage. They're finding every which way to do it. You know, and there's a I get asked that question a lot. It's like when is it time to like to go out and to get out of your house and out of your garage? And the the older I get, you know, I talked to I talked to somebody years ago and we were still we weren't small, but it's never enough. And I was just I just had this conversation with Mike Levine and and It's a mental thing for me that I have to figure out at some point and it's like when is enough enough? 'Cause like you set you set a goal and my problem is when I see that I'm at like I'm close, I just move the goalpost. And I don't see that stopping anytime soon. but I had advice from somebody and, you know, he was like, Are you making money? Are you happy with the amount of money you're making? I was like, Yeah, I think so. He's like, Well stay the size you're at. He's like, the more you build, the more problems you have, the more stress you have and you know, the guy had a NASCAR team. Michael Rice: Hehehe Zac: You know, yeah, a NASCAR team at the I mean, like, he had everything everybody wants to build up to. And I'm like, This is this is the wrong person to be saying this. Like, I would like to be at that level where, you know, like that is the level I I don't like NASCAR, but you get what I'm saying. Like and looking back, I'm like, man, now it's too late. Like, I can't go like it we're in a spot now where it's like we have to get bigger or it's gonna crush me because It's it's it's big, but it's not quite Michael Rice: Mm-hmm. Zac: big enough, if that makes sense. Like, and so we've gotta keep pushing. And that's fine. That's that's the choice that I made and I'm content with it. I'm like, but if you're watching and you're making six figures in in your in your house with no overhead, with no like real risk other than product, I almost would say like to stay there. Like don't unless like you're prepared to double down, like you have a really unique opportunity to make six figures, to take that money out of your business every month and reinvest it somewhere else. And you know, you talked you brought up my c yard cutting and you know Guy didn't cut the yard. Like we have, you know, 30 properties and we pay some of them we're responsible for the yards. The yard guy didn't show up. one of them for our store. So like we have the bin store going, customers are gonna come in, and the weeds like two foot tall. It looks like shit. Like that's the only way it looked so bad. I was embarrassed that people were lining up. I gotta cut the grass. You know? and it's I don't know if you guys have the same problem down there, but I have had a terrible problem with staffing. You know, I've got a couple really, really strong staff members and we've been, you know, we've struggled for a long time to get a really good team together, not only in the office, 'cause there's you know, the warehouse is just as important as the back end, right? Like people want to look down on warehouse workers, but without those guys loading trucks and coming in on time, I c doesn't matter what I sell if it can't get loaded. But It has been a difficult task getting people to work, like just getting them to come in and then when they come in keeping them motivated to to keep doing the job. So I don't know. And that it it's all around. It's not just warehouse stuff, it's it's lawn care people. Like that's your company. You promised me that you'd come cut my grass and you're not doing it. So I don't know you mentioned the wall, like we have the same problem contractors. Like you're doing either subpar work or you're just not showing up when you say you will. So I don't know if you're having Any of those problems or if life is perfect. Michael Rice: Yeah. No, no, life is not now. So I will say this. My core my core staff is has always been great. I bought a flea market a year or two ago and I did not want it. This sweet little lady who's a customer of mine, she's like, Hey, she's got cancer. She's got I mean, just a sad story. And I'm like, man, and then I went in there and looked, I was like, Man, we could turn this into an auction house. I could probably get it cheap. Well, anyway, the lady was renting it and the lady that owned it wouldn't let her out of release, just a real hateful situation. And so I bought it and it was like I think it was like 130, 120 grand, something like that. and and I ended up so what I'm doing is I'm like buying properties and I'm using those properties to buy other properties. It's a whole lot easier to do that. so we were gonna just turn it in. It's like a 3,000 square foot building, but it's Road front, it's right on the US Highway 45 that goes from basically Chicago down to the beach, you know. So it's like it's a well-traveled spot. And I was Man, it's prime real estate. but I got a lady, it just so happened the same time. A lady from my last church was like, Hey, you need to find me a job. She used to work for me. And I was like, Hey, you want to run a flea market? And she's Yeah. So she's been doing this for two years. I I go and I write checks once a month. I mean, it it doesn't generate a ton of money, but it does pay the bills and everything. So I've got a good core. My problem is like you said, those ones that like I got a trailer park sitting right now. I've got like four or five trailers on it. I've got four or five trailers that that need to be repaired. And I have had like four guys come out, quote me a job, let's get to work, and they never show up. So I don't know what the I don't know what the answer to that is. you know, and we're we're steadily churning out this, hey, you gotta go to college, you gotta go to college. So these kids that are coming out of school. They're not learning any trades. They're they're just, you know, they're thinking they can sit behind a computer and make thousands and thousands of dollars by posting content. And and and I don't know. I don't know what where we're heading to. But the the workers, man, it's it's almost like, man, I'd rather pay them guys more than than the people that sit in my offices. So I don't know where that's at. I think it's a I think it's everywhere. I think Chick fil A's probably the only one that's got it figured out, but you know. you you can pay as much as you want. It's not a money thing, it's just an ethics thing. So I know what that Zac: Yeah. It's definitely not a money thing. I mean, they would always be appreciative of more money, but like I don't think the money I I could offer the same job at twenty five and I'm gonna have the same group of guys come in and do a crappy job, and complain they're not making enough. you know, like w No, the contractor thing is such a real issue 'cause I'm like that is also like we're we're constrained by other people. If I could duplicate myself, I would be like so much farther but to build anything big, you have to you need other people. And that's our biggest constraint is is other people we bought an apartment building, you know, last October, November. And it should have been a four month project. And I'm just now able to rent the units out that and it's I had four different con four or five different contractors by the end of this thing where I wanna give you twelve units to renovate. Like this is a decent sized project. This is not small money. I'm not asking you to change a toilet, I'm asking to, you know, do this. And you know, I don't understand. I really don't. Like the the amount of time it takes for like to be dragged out, or some guys just do like really crappy work and they still want to get paid, then it's just it's such a frustrating thing. but moving outside of liquidation for a second, getting a little bit more into the real estate side. break it down, you know, what does your real estate look like? I know you've mentioned Airbnbs, we own the warehouse, it sounds like. What is what does that look like? And then, you know, what is your vision for the next couple of years on how you want to grow that, if at all? Michael Rice: Yeah, so okay. we purchased our building that we're at in I think I think we're we've been there for f five years now. And at the time it was my biggest purchase. I was scared to death. I was like, man, I how am I ever gonna pay a twelve hundred dollar note on a building? And so we you know we're still clicking along with that. and I didn't really want to get I've always wanted to be a landlord. Like I I've always wanted a trailer park for some reason. My wife's like, You're crazy. And I'm thinking, man, all these people just paying you money to live there. It's gotta be the it's gotta be the life. Well, dude, I do estate auctions every once in a while, not a bunch, because you know, it just is what it is. So I had a lady call me one day, Mike, I got a house. And I don't know if you do this, but I want to sell you this house. And I was like, okay. So I go and I look at this house, it's a brick house. I mean, it's got good bones. I mean, it's I it could it could be done. And I'm like, okay. The the part of town wasn't like the best part, but it wasn't the worst part of town. In Meridian, you're either in a really good spot or a really bad spot. It's either rich or poor. There is there's the middle class is very, very there is a middle class, but in the city of Meridian, it's either the ghetto or the old ri old rich white people. You know, it's just like that's Zac: Okay. Michael Rice: just what it is. It's old money, what they call it. So it was like right behind the hospitals, a decent location. I go in, I check it out. I was like, man, we could paint the walls, throw some flooring down, do some electrical. so I called her back and I was like, Look, I'm not that guy. Like if you're looking for somebody, I I don't do real estate. I'd like to. I offer five grand. And she's like, I will I I'll think about it. She calls me back like four days later and she's like, You still offering five thousand dollars? And I was like, yeah, yes. And my wife's like, What are you talking about? I said, I I guess we just accidentally bought a house, you know. So it's brick house, you saw it because it's the one that you messaged me about that I had on Zac: Yeah. Michael Rice: And dude, we went in and I mean I spent a few thousand, probably 10 or 12,000 on it, but liquidation, dude, the flooring was from liquidation, the sinks were from liquidation. Everything that I got was from truckloads that I had bought in the past. So you know, I had some paint done. And anyway, ended up selling that house for 55 grand. And I'm like, bro, like this, this is this is a thing here. So man, I'm working all day, every day, and liquidation and and what we're doing is. It it's I'll tell everybody you if you work it like a full-time job, it'll pay you like a full-time job. But if you start slacking, it'll start slacking as well. So it might not slack this week or next week. You can take a couple weeks off and not feel it, but it'll start doing it eventually. You got to keep feeding the beasts. So the real estate thing, it's gonna feed you regardless. Like you can be sitting on the beach somewhere and that thing's still paying you money. So I was debating on whether to sell it or flip it, you know, so I flipped the house and then I turned that into The flea market that I bought. And then I turned that into the trailer park. And then I bought an old old home that I used to live in when I was a kid. like I picked it up for like fifteen grand, dude. in a great part of town. and I was gonna I said, I'm gonna turn it into an Airbnb. And everybody's like, You're crazy. You have lost your mind. Meridian, Mississippi does not need an Airbnb. And I was like, I'm gonna do it. Now it took me a while to get it right and do everything. I I I probably had that house for I probably had that house for eight or nine months, maybe even a year before we even put it on Airbnb. But I put it on Airbnb I think last February and I've not had one single weekend that has not been booked. I mean, and and this is a house that I might rent out for like seven hundred and fifty dollars a month if if it it was a long term rental. And it's Zac: Yeah. Michael Rice: bringing me like, you know, three, four thousand dollars a month. And and I'm like, you know, the upfront cost is big. You got to put your TVs and your your beds and your couches and all that. But Man, it it's so far it's been beneficial. And then I had a another house that a buddy of my or a guy that used to work for me, he he was he came to us. I love this dude, man. He came to us, he was living in his van. And normally I just like, man, get out of here. We don't we don't need, you know, we don't Zac: Yeah. Michael Rice: need because we deal with a lot of money and a lot of stuff. And I don't want something to come up missing, but just something something stuck out about this dude, man. He started working for me. he went from living on in a van. He was he was going to work at like FedEx in the morning. He would cut a grass between then and coming to work for me. He'd work for me to like five, and then he'd go cut grass. I mean, this dude, he he was trying to do better. Zac: Yeah. Michael Rice: well, anyway, progressed a couple years into you know him working for me. I ended up seeing a house for sale, like 30 grand. I bought it to put him in and I rented it to him, you know, at like 600 bucks a month. he ended up getting like custody of his kid. I mean, just doing really good. Like the things that we want that we're in this business to do is like help other people. And You know, so I turned that house into an Airbnb. And like we've got the the this data center coming into town and all this stuff. So my Airbnbs have been stacked. My my trailer park have been has been it's been okay. You know, it's not like knocking down big numbers. It's because I got trailers that I can't get fixed. So right now we've got a few, just a few properties. It's nothing big, but it's it's sustaining me. And I'm kind of doing like you're doing. I'm trying to make that pivot from not I'm not getting away from liquidation. I love it. I love what I do. And it's not that I love like, you know, fighting with truck drivers and you know, getting stuff, but I like seeing people like I spent two hours yesterday just talking to a cat that spent 300 bucks with me, but he's he's building a business. And, you Zac: Mm-hmm. Michael Rice: know, that three hours or two hours that we spent talking, man, it you know, I I like seeing those small guys that are like you said, they're they're they're just getting into it. People are trying to take advantage of them, and I'm trying to give them like actual good guidance and to grow their business. And Hey, if you're out hustling at these flea markets, I don't have to do it. You're just coming to get the merchandise from me and taking it to them. So that's where we're at. we I'm not gonna go totally real estate, but dude, I'm real estate is definitely, is definitely looking good on us. Zac: Yeah, no, I I I I encourage people. We started, you know, I bought my first house at eighteen. Our area is is is different. Our first house was eighty nine thousand dollars. and it was just it was one of those deals we'd saved up just enough for a down an old man. I mean, this this old man, he just passed away last year, but he he went everywhere in in his coveralls. Right. And that's all he had. There was no shirt. There was no it was at his outfit was a pair of coveralls. And he had his cigar. He kn I've never seen the guy lit the cigar, but he just chewed it all day. it was eighty nine thousand dollars and we put, you know, twenty percent down and it was a it was a thirty year note with no interest. So it cost me two hundred fifty bucks a month and it It that's what it still is. And I I write the check. Well, I used to write the check to him, now it's to his trust, but I write a three thousand dollar check every January. I say thanks, I'll see ya next year. And we rent the house out for twenty five hundred dollars a month now. you know, but I encourage people to start as soon as you can, you know, because we started at eighteen th with the first one, you know, now we're up to thirty properties, forty individual doors, and The real estate, I I could s I could we could quit tomorrow and I'd be more comfortable than majority of people, you know, out there. You know, it's it's a it's a blessing. It's a it's a spot where it it's put us in where I I look at our liquidation business differently because I don't stress about the deals anymore. If I get a good deal, great, I'm taking it, we're running with this. But I don't make as rash of decisions anymore. This deal either works for me or it doesn't work for me. And and it's all because, you know, if I didn't work tomorrow, I wouldn't I wouldn't notice. Like and and that's what the real estate's done for us. And I know other people, you know, don't want to do real estate. It's a lot it it is work. It is not, you know, I was hoping it would be you know, sitting on the beach and just get that check every month. And that listen, the check on the first is great. I love like I look forward to the first because I get the money. But you're s there's still headaches. You know, there's still tenant evictions. There's still I mean, we have a couple of Airbnbs too and I shit you not, like our cleaner gives me a call one morning. It's a it's a it's a flip, right? So the guests have just checked out between the guests checking out at ten thirty and the cleaner getting there at eleven. The ceiling in the living room fell. Michael Rice: Mm. Zac: Like it just it just fell. There was no rain, there was no leak, like it just fell. They I guess when they built we didn't we didn't replace the ceiling. When they built the house they used nails is what is the only thing anybody could tell me and just over time, you know, just it just sagged and came down and literally on the couch, drywall and insulations everywhere. It's you just you're gonna get those phone calls. It's not you know, it's not something where, you know, it's just gonna be a hundred percent, you know, you get to not be involved. but for us at least, I you know, p I don't understand and I wish I did a bit more, you know, the whole the cryptocurrencies and I understand it to an extent, not enough. Like I tell people all the time, if I post that I buy Bitcoin or I buy stock hold off a couple of days 'cause it's about to get really cheap. Like that's my Michael Rice: Yeah. Yeah. Zac: luck with it. Real estate, I think it it it meshes with a lot of liquidation people. Like we can see it, we can hold it, we can touch it. Like for me I need that. Like I can drive by and go, that's you know, I did that, I own that, that is where my you know my my money is. And then yeah, we get to benefit from the fact that we source this stuff really cheap and we get to save thousands not only do we to save thousands of dollars on the materials, but we get to put materials in houses for people that will rent it that they wouldn't get otherwise. Right? Like we have these their the apartments will be section eight, but I sourced these Kohler vanities and they're nine hundred dollar vanities. I paid forty bucks. Like those would have never gone in there because it's section eight housing that should be a two hundred dollar vanity at best, but I sourced it cheaper th I sourced a thousand dollar vanity cheaper than I could, you know, could buy a cheap one at low, so that's what it went in that house. And it just I I don't know, people like when they live somewhere, like I don't want to be the slum lord. I want to be proud, like when you move in somewhere, like my name's on that building, so like that's my name and I want you to be proud to live in it and want to invite people over. so that's really it's really a unique thing we get to do with liquidation because like we get to put nicer flooring in than I think most people would, nicer appliances, nicer, nicer everything. that was different. I put a thumbs up and it did that. That's that's new, but you know, it didn't do it. It just for me. Michael Rice: Just you, just you. Yeah, but yeah, and that's that's something that I've always done. Like I you know, I say a trailer park, I mean it's it's I'm very cautious of who I put in there and who you know, I I want to be able to when I lay my head down at night, I I don't want to get any phone calls, obviously, but I wanna make sure like like that they know that my heart is in this. Like it's not just hey, I need my money on the first. Like I wanna make sure that they, you know, they've got like I put a mini split in a in a trailer because the dude, he's got like three kids or two kids. I don't know, he's got a bunch of kids, his wife's pregnant, and you know, I I s I rented him that trailer with a a central heat and air unit and it just wasn't keeping up. So I you know, it's it's it's all about taking care of people. And I and I put a video up about it, you know, and if you take care of these people, they're gonna take care of you a hundred percent. I mean, it you know, I could throw a bunch of ten can trailers up there and and obviously get a couple hundred bucks a month out of them, but I want I don't want the, you know, obviously don't want them living better than me, but I mean I want them to be be proud of where they live at. And, you know, they when you take pride in something, you don't tear it up, you you know, you you you're gonna take care of it. So and then you're talking about the their ceiling falling in. We we had a checkout, I think they checked out Sunday in this little house called it's called the Mimosa Cottage. But the wall was starting to kind of warp and I was like, let's check it out, you know. So I blocked off like Sunday, Monday. We were gonna just pull it off. It was that paneling. I'm sure it just kind of got a little moisture. We pulled it off through there's mold. the Zac: my god. Michael Rice: there's a hole in the floor. I guess they had just added on. So there's like hot air blowing up and my air conditioner is blowing right at it. So man, we ended up having we we we went through and had to mold kill everything. And and the more wall we're tearing, the more we're seeing. So I ended up I blocked it off for the whole week this week because I've got someone checking in Friday and I'm like, man, this, you know, It's like you said, it's the cause that you don't understand. It it looks good from the outside. I'm gonna post my Zac: Yeah. Michael Rice: highlight reel, but man, you don't see you know the house that I bought. And I was like, Man, this is I'm gonna I'm gonna rock and roll this. And then you you get your carpenter over there, he's Man, this thing's got termites all in it. Well, what Zac: huh. Michael Rice: why did you buy this house? I'm Well, it was a good deal, you know. So, you know, obviously I don't I know liquidation, but I don't know building stuff. So Zac: Yeah. Michael Rice: so that's that's what we're doing. But now that Now that my my Mimosa cottage is shut down for a week, now I can upgrade the sinks. I can upgrade because you're paying $150, $200 a night for a cottage in Zac: Mm-hmm. Michael Rice: Borinia, Mississippi. I want the nice things in there. I want I want you Zac: Yeah. Michael Rice: to come in and be like, man, that's that's a cool right thing right there. So you know, you kind of got to take a step back and and do those things, but also take advantage of your time, you know, while you've got that blocked off. So but yeah, dude, I I I'm 100% on board with man, take care of your people. Because that's who's taking care of you. Zac: For sure. No, you gotta take care of You also, you know, and something we've had we've been doing this for twelve years, and I've had one eviction in twelve years. And this whatever, whatever mirror I broke, I must have broken it earlier this year. I've just had a string of of bad luck between like stuff. I mean, it's just one of those years where ACs are going down, and we've had I think I think s seven evictions. Now, three of them were mostly just like We to do it right, like one guy had died or we th we thought he died. He was in the hospital, like he was not coming back, he was not paying, unfortunately, sorry. After two months I gotta start the process. I I care to a certain extent until it you know, we are, you know, being affected negatively and you know like fine whatever we'll move but they didn't move so we had to even though they said they were moving, we had to go through the process. one lady just literally she left one day. She said, I'm going to nursing home and I was like, Okay, well can you sign this that states like never heard back. So then that's Michael Rice: Yeah. Zac: the process. One guy, you know, one lady just they weren't paying and I mean You know, it's it's been a year of of that. And it's been a year of like we try 'cause we have you we've got Airbnbs, we've got multifamily homes, we've got, you know, traditional, like, long term residential properties, and we've got a lot of commercial and that's I try to diversify 'cause I'm, you know, I'm all about like, well, what if this happens? I want a safety net and I don't want to be too heavy in any one thing, so we have a lot and you know, right now we're heaviest in commercial and we're heaviest in these like they're you know, between five thousand and ten thousand square feet, but they're multi unit. And I like because they're inexpensive for people. Anybody with like a lawn care business up to like, you know, whatnot sellers can use but it's a fine line between, you know, wanting to help these people and then protecting yourself 'cause it's you know, I'm I'm always down to work with people on their rent. You know, the f the first for a lot of people is very difficult 'cause every bill you have for whatever reason, I don't know who decided this r like rule, is due on the first of the month. You know, Michael Rice: Yeah. Zac: and so if I notice a tenant is struggling and is late every month, we usually go to him and have a few calls to make today, hey you've been been late for three months. Why don't we look at maybe doing half on the first and half on the fifteenth or the whole thing on the fifteenth? I could care less when your rent date is, as long as it's consistent every month. Now, also don't take advantage of me and my like kindness and willingness to help because they will do that. Well I just I literally I had a text while I was trying to figure out the software here and a tenant and he was late last month with a promise to pay today was his like listen, I just got a new job, I get paid on the fourteenth. You know, we can pay on the nineteenth. you get a call today or text this morning, you know, hey, I was in jail over the weekend, I had to pay two thousand dollars to bond myself out. Can I have some more time? I'm like, man, I really like I appreciate your situation, but don't let your like negative decisions affect me. Like that's Now I have to be the act like the the asshole and go, no, you have today was the day. The next thing you'll get is a pay or you know, pay rent or quit letter, and then we have to start the process because I don't know how the eviction process is down there, but it is a task here. You know, there's a lot of steps, there's a lot of weight, there's there's no set time. It is it's like whenever the the court decides like they can send somebody out to serve and then like by the time we get them served, it's a month before we get a court day. Like it's a two month process before we get in front of a judge. Michael Rice: Yeah. Zac: and so, you know, you gotta you gotta be cautious as much as you wanna help these people, like there's bills. I pay the bill, you know. If a lot of it a lot of it thankfully we we have paid for, but the stuff we have mortgages on, I gotta pay that mortgage whether you pay your rent or not. Otherwise you're kicked out and I lose a house. Like, so go ahead. Michael Rice: Yeah, and I I think that's a fine line with us, man, because like, you know, I'm a Christian, I'm a I'm a youth pastor, and that's the first thing people throw up in your face. Well, well, you're supposed to be this, you're supposed to be that, but I gotta feed my family, you know. I I'm not I don't want to get out on you. When we had this conversation, when you when you rented this place for me, and I was a kind enough guy to even lower the rent a hundred bucks a month, and and now the the first month that comes around, you're late. I mean, we got a problem. I mean Right now in this trailer park in the very back is a trailer that does not belong to me. It's on my property. She was renting the land from a d from the dude that I bought it from. and and it's just sitting back there. It's an eyesore. I wouldn't let anybody live in this trailer. And and I keep calling her, hey, what are you what are your plans? Well, you know, we're we're trying to figure it out. We're trying to figure we've been trying to figure it out since February. I mean, at what point do you have to just cut ties? And I tell you another thing that kind of helped me. because like I said, I don't I don't I'm not saying I don't like confrontation, but I I'd rather somebody else handle it for me. I've got I've got a property manager. So when I bought the trailer park, which this is my only long term rental, is is these now. and I love you said multi-units. That's what that's what got me into the you know, the trailer park or the apartment because you got one tax bill, you got one insurance, and then everything else is all, you know, you got one bill and you're got you're getting multiple incomes. Zac: Mm. Michael Rice: But I've got I've got a property manager and this woman is she's a pit bull, man. She'll go after Zac: Mm-hmm. Michael Rice: But now when I bought it, it, you know, the the trailer part was probably generating thirty five hundred dollars a month. She gets her 10% and my notes nine hundred dollars a month on it. So I mean it was it was making money the day I signed Zac: Yeah. Michael Rice: the bill. so I kept that going. I've got one family that I brought in myself and that I'm I'm handling. Zac: Mm-hmm. Michael Rice: But it's constantly. Hey, we we got this, we got that, you know. And I'm the kind of guy like I had one guy, we had to go up on his rent. He was renting a two-bedroom apartment that's on this trailer park. He was renting for $650 a month. He's been, he's been there for five years paying $650. And the apartment right next door is $850 a month. And I'm like, we got to go up to $850. So I tell my my manager, she tells him, he's like, Well, why has it got to go up so high? I'm like, that's just there's no $650 Zac: But Michael Rice: a month. You know, five years ago, yeah. or six, whatever it was, pre-COVID. So they paid it. the next month, he you know, he he couldn't come up with it. He was a little late. no, no, no. He was gonna c he was gonna pay it the right right when the increase came, he had to switch jobs and stuff. so she's like, he's gonna pay you, you know, next week or something. And so I'm like, he's gonna pay the six fifty that he owes me already. Then he's gonna pay me the eight fifty that he's that it's increasing all at one time and with a new job. She's like, yeah. I called him up, was like, dude, what's going on? He's like, man, I'm just, I'm in between jobs. I've got a new job. I'm gonna get it. I'm I'm just struggling. I say, listen, dude, don't worry about the 650. That I'll eat this month. Let's start fresh on the 850. You know, but but this isn't gonna be an ongoing thing. You know, it was so I'm like you, as long as we're consistent and we we get that rent on every month, you know, and I'm not gonna call every one of my my tenants to say, hey, I'm gonna take care of your rent this month, you know. But I get it. People get into situations, and if you've been in the same place for five years, I'm trying to hold on to you, dude. Like like you've paid for that place, I'm sure. But Zac: Yeah. Michael Rice: so so if you're a good tenant, you know, and you you're you you've got good people, man, you got to take care of those people. And Zac: Yeah. Michael Rice: sometimes it might be helping them out on on something. And and you know, that's not everybody's cup of tea. But if I can say, if I can give up six hundred and fifty dollars to maybe Keep there another year or so, it's worth it to me. Zac: Yeah. No, I agree. I think, you know, you gotta make those decisions and you know, we're still at a level even with forty, we've got someone in house that handles all of that and there's still you know, we have a standard operating practice for for for it, right? This is how it gets handled. And because if everybody's the exception then there's no rule, right? But there's still the exception because we're still I it's it's big. It's forty people is a lot of people. Michael Rice: Yeah, that's all. Zac: Right to to to put up with. And it's like I don't know everybody's story, but I know a lot of them and so like I do have I I have empathy for people. You know, but I am trying to get it to a place where I don't have to as it sounds it sounds harsh, but like It needs to get big enough to where there is that wall. Like this is a business transaction at the end of the day when we signed. I have responsibilities and you have responsibilities. And as long as I uphold mine and we do, when an issue comes up, we usually w unless it's like minor, you know, we're usually twenty four, forty eight hours we have it fixed for you. And you can expect that. And so at the end of the day, at on the first and we give you till the fifth, I expect you to come up with your side of the deal. And that should be that. You know, at the end of the day, I have my own friends, I've got my family, I have my people. I don't need you or your people. And my j my job is to give you a nice place to live. And I would love, you know, I do feel for it's tough. We we recently had to cut ties. We we rented one of our buildings to a church of all of all businesses. And, you know, they they had Michael Rice: Yeah. Zac: It's been there for five years. They they almost paid for the building. and they had every year it seemed like they'd there'd be one month they couldn't make it. You know, we would okay, well we'll we'll catch up and now you know, three months and I'm like, How can we how can we resolve this? I was like, Well maybe you can ask your congregation who has some skills, maybe we can do some work in s in lieu of the back rent and see if we can't get that caught up in order to move forward, right? so I try to get really creative with people and it just you know, as as much as it it sucks, 'cause you know, I'm a Christian also. I don't I don't I'm not I'm not big on the church. I've had I've had too many neg negative experiences with the church as a whole, you know, so I believe the relationship with with Christ and God is what matters. The the church is great if it's done if it's done right. and I know a lot of people have great experience with church and I I I know you do. mine just hasn't been. but even with all that, you know, the church at the end of the day, it still has to operate as a business. And if you're not gonna be financially responsible, like that is we've had a couple of big churches in our area, they've had to close down because of that. I mean math like big ones. And when they closed it came out, like you're not being financially responsible. And that's part of your job, I guess as a shepherd or whatever, like you are responsible for this. and as much as we wanted to hang on to like, I also can't I cannot fund your business no matter what your business is. So it's a tough one. Michael Rice: And and we get it we get it all the time, dude. It like we'll have, you know, people come to me. I did a video because these people have come out of the woodworks. Hey, can you donate to this? Can you help this? And Zac: Mm-hmm. I saw it with like the sponsorships. Michael Rice: I love helping people, but I can't help everybody. one of the greatest things that we did, like I said, is put a property manager in between me and my tenants. I have more problems, and I say problems, I don't have a lot, but I have more complaints, issues, I I'm more hands-on with that one unit in that trailer park. Than I am with the let the other five because she she's a buffer. And and I'm, you know, I love helping people. I love being there for people, but I can't answer my phone every time there's something small goes on, you know, and then it's something that's just it's not really that big a deal, you know. So she handles that and she's excellent at it. And it has given me a chance to kind of step back. And it's the business that anybody wants. You collect a check, you put a little bit of work into it, but that's it. And you know, I didn't own a trailer park, I didn't own rentals to You know, to to be up there all the time and every time you need to change a light bulb. I mean, so definitely that wall, I don't care what you say, it it's it's it helps you and your family, you know, take care of maintain your peace. And then it it it also gives that person some a point of contact where they can, hey, this is your job to to l answer all these questions and they can, you know, I'm all I might be busy, I might not be able to take that call. You I don't want you to ever feel like that you're not important to me. So I'm gonna put somebody in that position that that is that's their main goal is to service you and to make sure that's there. And then, you know, as far as the churches go, dude, I get it, man. Like, like you're biblically responsible to financially take care of of the people and the the billing that you're in. So but but you got so many times. And even in the liquidation business, people call churches these donation loads like you guys talked about last week. Man, Zac: Yeah. Michael Rice: I I can't tell you how many times I've gotten a load and And and you know, I I remember I received a Coke load. It was it was from somebody sold me a Coke load, I think it was off the liquidation site on Facebook. It was a killer deal. And I bought it, I brought it in. It was like 30 pallets of Coke in like double stack. Like dude got Zac: Yeah. Michael Rice: a ticket on the way in. And it was spiced Coke, and I don't remember what I paid for, but it was cheap, man. We were selling 12 packs for a buck and making money. And so Meridian Coca-Cola calls me, they're like, Hey, We need to talk. And I'm like, I don't know, you don't need to talk to me. This is mine. I paid for it. I got receipts. Zac: Yeah. Michael Rice: And they're wanting to know because it was in it was a Birmingham load. It should have come over here. So I don't know. Like, like that stuff, like I don't fool with that. Man, like if it's Zac: Yeah. Michael Rice: you let me know what's going on with this stuff. And you know, right right now I got a lady down in in Alabama. She's wanting to sell me donated, like it's I guess it's donated Amazon and It looks like I guess FCP or whatever, but she said Zac: Yeah. Michael Rice: sometimes they come in their six foot pouts, sometimes they're eight, but she runs a charity, man. And there's so many people hiding behind the church, you know, and Zac: Okay. Michael Rice: that's dude, there's so much corruption going on in the church because, you know, like you said, they they want they want something. They want something, and all they gotta do is just throw that out there that they're a church and and they get stuff for free and they do all this, and and man, that's that's not not biblical you know it's it's not you know if anything you know people come in all the time hey my church you know can can I buy this for my church and I'll try to help them out don't get wrong but I Zac: Mm-hmm. Michael Rice: told a lady the other day I was like do they not tithe at your church does your church not give you know they don't give y'all money every Sunday yeah yeah yeah we do good and I'm like well wouldn't it be biblical Zac: That's what the Michael Rice: wouldn't it be biblical for you to pay me the proper amount that it that this is worth So I can feed my family and stuff. And she just kind of looked at me crazy. So you know, I I'm I'm a youth pastor, and I promise you, like one, I love my church. We have a great church, Zac: Mm-hmm. Sure. Michael Rice: we have a great congregation, and I know people's been hurt by the church. I've been hurt by the church, but I man, I'm gonna be honest, like there's a lot of people hiding behind the church and using Zac: Mm-hmm. Michael Rice: that for their personal gain. And that's man, that's it's it's sickening. It's it really is. So it's not just the church scared. Zac: It definitely like hurts the whole overall like one bad apple can can do more damage than ten good ones. And it's such a sad thing because like try to defend, you know, your faith and like people throw this guy I mean like we hear all so much stuff in the news and it's like I wanna defend, but I read I read but I don't forget what book, but it was like if Jesus came back today he wouldn't be a Christian. You know, and it's the truth. Like what it is what it is today is not like It's not what it's supposed to be, you know, and the the donation thing is so funny. I have a hard and fast rule. We we we donate, you know, we help people. I love one of my things I love to help people when I know I'm helping somebody. but we I'm sure you get the comments too, you should donate that to Michael Rice: yeah. Zac: I have a hard and fast rule and I've I've never been called out on it. I've I've been waiting. but I've always told people if If we have shoes, we got told you should donate those thousand pairs of shoes. I said, listen, whatever you buy from me, I will match as a donation and we'll donate together. And I've I've said that for ten years and not a single person has ever put their money has ever put their money where their mouth is and and you know, taking me up on it. But it's always a thing. If you see something that I have that you want to donate, you tell me and we'll donate it together. You buy it, you buy half, I'll donate the other half. You know, just don't tell me where to put my money. That's a big pet peeve. Like it's my money, I worked hard for it, I'm happy to to do what I want with it, and I love to help people, you know, and sometimes money's not the thing that helps people. It you know, they really need something different. Michael Rice: Yeah. We get it all the time, man. You know, we used to donate this. Well, how about I sell it to you at my cost? And then and they're like, Well, what you know, I guess they think that we're just making millions and millions of dollars for profit and that we, you know, that we can just do it. And moving merchandise doesn't always mean you're making a ton of money. You know, and I can't tell you how many times I've lost money just to get you put Zac: Get it gone. Michael Rice: you put you hit the nail on the head the other day when you said That that's crap sitting in your warehouse is costing you, you know, money because you find the great load and you can't do you can't even buy a good load. So we've been flushing stuff, man, and and that's it, man. Just you know, but but people all the time, you should donate. Well, I mean I should, but if I donated everything I had, I'd be, you know, I'd be needing to donate. Yeah. Yeah. So Zac: I'd be asking for donations. I'd be in the opposite spot. Yeah. No, it's funny. and no, you're right with the with the inventory man, like, don't sit on stuff. People like, you know, this this thousand pallet liquidation we're doing like this guy didn't he didn't throw stuff away and I'm like buddy he's got outside of the th the pallet there's I mean there is a yard of scrap lawnmowers and I'm like first thing we're doing is we're getting some guys in here with dump trailers we're taking this stuff to the scrap yard we'll get some money for it and we'll we'll you know we'll actually have some some places to work but you know we're coming up on our on our on our hour and one one section that I didn't get to yet is your content and I just wanna I wanna know what made you like what made you get on TikTok. Do you have do you have plans to to moneti are you monetize? I don't know. You're close to ten thousand on TikTok or do you have any plans besides just being Mike Rice with Mike Rice auction house in Mississippi? Michael Rice: So, dude, I would love to just do content creation. I love it. I love it. I I wished and I I'll jump on there. We we are monetized on Facebook and I just hit 10,000 on on TikTok and I I'm Instagram slacking. So I've been trying to post more on YouTube. I've been just you know posting across I just fell into it on accident, man. Honestly, I just I post deals and that's that's my way to get it out there. I had a guy, he's he's got like a news thing in Meridian and he'll he'll just go around like if something's going on, he'll just be out there with a camera. And I'm like, huh. So he was he was charging me like $400 a month to advertise on his page. And I was like, Well crap, man, I could just put that into into my social media. So I kind of fell into it on accident. I was just doing it as advertisement, and now like we're leaning into a couple more funnier videos, just try to hook, you know, get people hooked. I I don't think you know, I'd love for a video to go viral or nothing, but I've never like made a ton, you know. I'm making four or five hundred dollars a month on a decent month from Facebook and you know, so we're we're trying to go more monetized, but I think the harder I try, the worse it is. Like if I just get out there and show my deals and just do me, I get thousands and thousands of views. If I'm out there, it's like if I put time into creating a video and all this. It flops, dude. And it's like crap, you know. So I'ma just let it do its thing like I've always done. I've never like set out to say, hey, I'm gonna be this content creator. I'd love to. It'd be great. but I know liquidation and and I know how to, you know, I know wholesale and that's that's what I'm sticking to. So now if it like, you know, when I was working the job and the the wholesale retail stuff kind of grew outgrew that, I jumped to that. So now If if that ever gets bigger than where I'm at now, dude, I I'll do it in a heartbeat. But it right now it's just a way instead of me pumping money into a local advertisement or something like that, my local advertising is local ball teams and Facebook. And I, you know, I don't I don't pay for, you know, I guess you could pay Facebook to to blast it out there. I don't do that. Zac: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Michael Rice: but I I do and I just I just get on there and I just run the camera. I might do a giveaway or something. Hey, we're gonna give away a hundred dollars in store credit if you share. that that does really well for us. I mean, it, you know, if somebody thinks they're gonna get a hundred dollars by hitting the share button and and we actually Zac: They're down. Michael Rice: give it away, you know, the I get more traction from stuff like that. So you know, I I don't really understand how the Facebook thing, I mean, how the the the Facebook thing worked, it just did. And and it was just something, I'll tell you this, it's just like whatnot, just like any any social media. You've got to build a following. You got and you gotta poke be consistent. You know, you gotta keep it going. If you're on vacation this week, throw something out there, ask some questions, just get some engagement. And and you know, you just gotta, it's like a snowball. You gotta keep it rolling or it'll it'll die on you. And you know, we've we've seen that. We've gone from, you know, four or five million views in a month down to like two hundred and seventy because I was out of we went on a cruise a couple of weeks ago and like didn't post any content. I was on vacation and and when I didn't post content, it just it just you know kind of died out. So I think this month's check was only like 270 bucks. But you know, it's not a ton of money, but it's money and it's fun and it's and it Zac: Yeah. Michael Rice: gets it gets me in front of people that never would would dream about it. You know, I get people all the time either driving because we're on that I-20 corridor, you know, from Texas to Atlanta, right there on I-20. And I I get people stopping, hey, we're coming from Texas. I just wanted to meet you and I'm like, bro, you drove from Texas? You're like like I get it, you're going through this town, but you stopped in just to see me? Like what Zac: Yeah. Michael Rice: what is it? So I love it, dude. I like I'll give somebody a t shirt, you know, they come in the shop and I just, you know, I got this little fan club and it's like, you know, I probably won't ever be anything else, you know. So but I I love it. It's fun, it's it's engaging and it's growing my business. So It's great. it like I said, I wish I knew of the magic potion, but I just I just got on Facebook one day and showed something that I had for sale and you know, somebody shared it because it was a good deal and they're like, Well, Zac: Yeah. Michael Rice: keep it going. So, but that's where we're at now, you know. I would love to be making millions, but it's you know, it's just it's just a way to get my face out there and get my get my products out there. Zac: Yeah, no, you're you know, y you're making money advertising your stuff versus a lot of us were paying money to Facebook to advertise our product for us. So, you know, the fact that you're even making five hundred dollars a month, you know, you're making five hundred dollars a month for posting things from your phone. You're not like you're just operating your business on a on a daily basis and you're making videos. And I think that's, you know, the power of social media. we're not quite monetized yet. We might got monetized on one of our business pages and it's so funny to me, like, 'cause I'll I'll look at the insights and I made a dollar on that post and I'm like, I don't think I would pick up a dollar like if a dollar's on the ground, I th I would probably debate picking it up. But it's so Michael Rice: Yeah. Zac: fun to me, like, there's a dollar I don't even know where the money goes Michael Rice: Maybe don't Zac: or if I've ever s actually physically seen the money. you know, but they say they say if you can post every day for ninety days, that is the threshold of like making it like if you can get through that ninety day that 90 day point because it's brutal and you feel like an idiot like in the beginning like you know because it's usually just your friends and family at first and they're looking at you like what are you doing? You know, you're not and I mean you know, I mean I'm not sitting here trying to be the the most viral liquidation TikTok or you know our our goal with content is is to educate people on liquidation. I think that liquidation, I think reselling is something that anybody can get into and there's no barrier to entry. I loved what you said early on. You know, you used to drive around and get like the the curb alerts and I always encourage people, I'm like, there is free stuff out there, let's get that money. but I think liquidation is the the big or the fastest like the fastest way to go when it comes to reselling. It's the most consistent way to get product at a low cost. and then outside of that you know, let's keep building on top of this and that's that's the point of my content. When we first got started selling pallets, you know, my it's my ex-wife now, but our what we what we told people is, you know, we wanted to help other people quit their nine to five and we were able to do, you know, work for ourselves through pallets. And Michael Rice: Yeah. Zac: that was our mission, that was our purpose. And from then to now, I've like lost that, I guess. Like I felt like earlier this year I like, Yes, we're making a lot of money and it's great and it's all great for us, but I'm like I used to feel something different when I came into work and it was I realized that's what it was. I was I was making money, but I was helping other people make money. and that made it a little bit better, made it more fun and enjoyable. I'm like, how can I do that again? And I think with content, there's so much misinformation out there, scams out there, people trying to tell you this is a get-rich quick industry, and it's not. And so you know, our goal is just to to build an educational platform where we can share our experiences and share our struggles and and hopefully save some people what I call stupid tax from the mistakes that I've made in the past. I can if I can save you any of those mistakes then I'll have felt like this is this is successful. Michael Rice: Yeah, and I and I see a lot of especially in my my part of you know, we don't like I said, we don't do a lot of truckloads, but I deal with a lot of guys that are just getting into the business, a lot of flea market guys. And man, these like the wholesale people, man, they'll sell they'll they'll just tell you anything, man, and and then they'll sell it to you. And I'll I'll tell people, you know, until we get to doing business good, if I give you this item, I say, Man, this is a home run, Zach. This is gonna do good. And you take it and it doesn't, I'm gonna buy it back from. That's the kind of person I am. Now I and I'm also honest enough to say, man, this hadn't done real well for us, you know. So I think being honest with people in in a business where there's so much dishonesty, it goes a long way. So you're you're showing, I mean, and and you're you obviously you're not in the trenches of of what you're showing. Obviously, we're not gonna just give away all of our secrets. but But I mean, you're showing people what worked for you a year or two ago and they're they're able to kind of catch on and that's something that not everybody's doing because it's such a hush hush or it was now. I mean, there's a lot of content and information that's out there, but Zac: Mm-hmm. Michael Rice: it's such a hush hush you know, thing now. And and I remember years ago, or maybe even just a year ago, I was like, Man, if I could just be a contract holder, you know, and then listen to you and Mike talk, I was like, I'm glad I'm not a contract holder, you know? Like Zac: I'm glad I didn't do that. Michael Rice: Like I don't I don't want no part of that, you know. So I was talking to a dude at my dealer's sale Thursday and he was like I was like I was like man because he's trying to find a build and he's just in that spot. I was like, dude, stay in the trail truck and trailer as long as you can. Cause if I could right now, me and my wife would sell everything we had. We'd get a motorhome with a trailer and we just hit these little local options and we just Zac: Yeah. Michael Rice: live life, you know. but at the point that we're buying right now, you gotta buy big to get the deal. And You're not going to do that out of a truck and trailer. So it you know, stay small as long as you can and then grow when you have to. But you know, I think people like me and you that are that are actually you we're being real, you know. yeah, you can make a lot of money in it, but you, but you've also got to put the work in it. And and this is how I've done it. It might work for you, it might not. but there's a lot of crooks in this business and and you gotta, I'm not gonna sit there and say this person is this and this person's that, but but you know, you've got to These are the signs you need to look for, you know, and and if it like you said, if it can help one person, because a lot of these guys, I think this is something you said years ago, you know, if I had two thousand dollars, what would I invest? You know, what truckload would I buy? I wouldn't buy a truckload if all I had was two thousand. So you know, I want your money, I want your business, but I'm not gonna click with every single person out there. Zac: Yeah. Michael Rice: And and maybe my business isn't right for you. And if you're not spreading, if you're not out there trying to buy from every single, you know. person that you can to find the best deals, you're not going to make it. So I think transparency and honesty go a long way. And that's what keep people coming back to me because they know I'm going to shoot them straight. You know, hey Mike, Mike might not be the plug on this item, but he is on this and I know he's going to shoot me straight. So I'm going to might I might pay 50 cents more on this item just because I know he's going to, you know, be real with me. So that's that's what it's always been about. Zac: Yep, no, we said well I think on our first podcast, I said you you want to look for an educator, not a broker, when you're Michael Rice: Yes. Zac: buying truckloads. Someone that wants to explain to you what this load is and how it will work for your business, versus someone who's just trying to make their their broker fee and move on. You might pay a little bit more, but if the load's worth, you know fifteen thousand, it's worth it's worth it's worth fifteen thousand five hundred. Like five hundred thousand bucks either direction on these full liquidation trucks, they don't really make that big of a difference. so go ahead. Michael Rice: Yeah and they're gonna take care of you. I remember I bought a couple years ago, I bought a Home Depot, Home Depot what's it called? Zac: Dribble. Michael Rice: No, it wasn't turbo, it was hardware. It was it was hardware. It's gonna call to be his Home Depot hardware load. It Zac: Okay, tool and hardware load. No. Michael Rice: was one of the it was one of the bigger liquidators on the the liquidation page and or bigger brokers. I get it in and it's pallets of hinges. It's a whole truckload of door hinges. I find out where it came from. It's someplace over in Georgia that buys Home Depot loads. They put all their freaking hinges outside Zac: Yeah. Michael Rice: because it looks like it'd been sitting outside. And then they called this broker up. They're like, hey, we got a bunch of hinges from Home Depot we need to get rid of. Now are Home Depot are hinges hardware? They absolutely are. Did he lie to me? He did not. Had it been like you or somebody else, you know, that that would shoot me straight. I I feel like, you know, this guy would. Zac: What? Michael Rice: trying make a quick hundred bucks, five hundred bucks and move on, you know. And it Zac: Yeah. Michael Rice: and and so and I've also been blatantly right out lied to from from from some brokers and said they showed me pictures and then they sold me something totally different, you know, and you know, and you think about those. You you don't remember every time that you hit a good lick, but you remember every time you've been burned. So and Zac: Yeah. And that it's a it's a it's a two way street there, right? Like, you know, you remember every time you've been burned, you gotta remember w when you're working with someone you find and and they're and they're good to ya, if you're good if they if you get good trucks ten times in a row and the eleventh one's bad Like the guy didn't screw you, you just that's liquidation. You're gonna get a bad one every once in a while. And I think sometimes I because I've lost customers over that. Customers I've been with for six, you know, six months to twelve months, they get a bad load and they go, You're just here to screw me. And I'm like, You've been telling me how great these trucks are for like six months, and then the one that comes in and it's bad, now I'm the bad guy. That's fine. We'll just this relationship is done because I can't like I'm not gonna fix this. 'Cause you've you've won ten out of ten times. This is not wholesale, this is liquidation. If you lose on occasion, take your like take your lick and and you move on to the next load and that's all that's all you do. You know, if it's Michael Rice: Yeah and Zac: if it's terrible, I got it and I'll I'm I'm gonna post a video about this later. I had a customer reach out and he was like, you know, at what point is is the as is clause like not valid? And I like what you what are you talking about? He Well, I bought about four pallets and it's supposed to be customer returns and I was fine with that, but the pallets are filled with mouse crap and there's dead mice and there's nests, and I'm like Okay, well that's different to me. Like that is not an item condition. This is w caused by a storage condition. And whether it's your supplier or his supplier, like someone should make that right. That is not like a now one listen, a little bit of mouse poop in a palette, please don't call me. But it's infested and it smells and it's unsellable, please call. Because like that needs to be one Whose warehouse was it? Because they have a bigger problem they need to fix. And then two, like, you shouldn't be dealing with that. So there's there's there's limits to what you can take and what you should expect, but like, I'm sorry, if thirty percent of your load was was broken on a customer return truck, the odds just didn't pan out for you on that one. I can't I'm not the guy processing the load. Like, this is call Walmart and see if they see if they care. Michael Rice: Yeah, I think we talked about this a while back. You know, it it you you pay six thousand, ten thousand dollars for a cheap load and and me, a a purchaser, buying from you know, somebody like you, we're thinking, man, he's making two or three thousand dollars on this load, and you're you're literally making pennies on the dollar and and it's guys, you know, it's guys like I say guys like me, the end seller, you know, we have Zac: Mm-hmm. Michael Rice: all these complaints. I I guess because, you know, six thousand dollars is a lot of money. To someone who's who's you know in the retail business, but I've never lost on a whole truck, I've never had a complete truckload that was just I I I might have had one or something, but you you you just you know the business, you know what you're in, and you're supposed to be creative enough to be able to sell that type of stuff. So figure it out and quit crying about it and just move on, you know. that's one thing. But now to show something and it be something totally different. I get it. Somebody needs to, you know, somebody needs to to do something about it. I and there's a you know, there's a place I bought from Al in Alabama when I was just getting started and bought a couple pallets. man, they looked good, but they were doctored, dude. I got them, got them home and we had spent like a great bit of the money that we had. Like we didn't have a lot to to go off of. So it was these Dyson vacuum cleaners sticking out, man. And I was like, man, well, they had actually physically took the non-working display model off. through the things in the bottom, turn totes upside down. I mean, it was it was very much so doctored, and I was like, man, that they'll never get another dime for me. And everybody that I know that's even remotely thinking about going to that place, they'll hear yeah, they'll know about it. So Zac: Or so Michael Rice: it it's one thing to get you know to get a crappy load. There's crappy loads all over. That's what we do. But it's another thing to get a load that's been like hundred percent doctored and you know that it's it's It's been shown one way and it's something totally different. So Zac: A hundred percent and I think it's important that people do know and something we're working on is a list of verified embedded pallet suppliers that will ship as well as you can go locally pick up and that's something we'll give a portion of that list away for free. So as I see that question all the time, where do you buy pallets? And it's like someone you know, nobody's giving that information away for free and I under like I get why anyone wants to like lose their spot, but you know, and I won't give it all for free, but we'll s we'll give you a little sample for free. but with that, I'm I'm I'm over the hour that I've allotted. and I hate to end on any kind of negative about about poor suppliers. So to end it off, Mike, you know, we've talked about all the losses. We've talked about how how this industry's tough and you know, you can't get rich quick, but we all have a few stories where we we hit a massive lick. So share share your most memorable win. and we'll end it there. Michael Rice: Yeah, I'm gonna be honest the the the COVID lick, and I don't know if I can drop names or nothing, but a buddy of mine Zac: Please do. People are so afraid. Like the point is I am like I'm at the point with liquidation where I am down to give away my secrets because Michael Rice: Okay. Zac: I have made it. I am gonna keep making there's so much money and inventory in this business. I can't buy it all, right? You can't buy it all. Why are we gatekeeping? Like people can make money. So if you want to name drop, listen, I can give Michael Rice: All here it is. Zac: a crap less. Feel free. Michael Rice: Now I've only bought like two or three truckloads from this dude, but every time I see this guy, he's good as gold. He's a great dude. And I mean, just has has won in life and got a great team. But Anthony Zappatelli, Zac: Okay. Michael Rice: Zap's wholesale. That's the one he called me up. He's like, Mike, he was just, I don't know how big he was at the time. This was 2019. And then, dude, we have we're literally working out of a flea market. I rented booths and I kind of walled them off and that's what that was my shop. It was hot. It was and he caught you know hey we got this load the staples load and I I I brought I bought it. I got it in first two pallets was dented up freaking crap. And then the rest of them was coffee and all but it was all case packed stape not case packed but it was all thrown it was it was it was good stuff. It was not returns. It was overstock I guess shuffles And now we'd sat on it for a few months because it was a lot of stuff to take in. I mean, it was hand sanitizer, Lysol, cleaning stuff, toilet paper, paper towels, just gobs and gobs. Every, every palette was bumping the ceiling when we got off, got it off the truck. I was like, man, it's gonna take me a year to get through this stuff. And it, you know, the first few months, I probably bought it in January, February. I don't know when I bought it, but it, you know, I remember going to Atlanta to pick up a load. And one of the girls from the fleet market called me. I just stopped my booth and all. She's like, You need more toilet paper. And I was like, What are you talking about? She's like, We're out of toilet paper. I said, just stopped the booth. And she's like, No, you don't understand. You need more toilet paper. Like, you do you know what's going on? Dude, I got trapped in Atlanta because that's when everything hit the fan. Gas Zac: Yeah. Michael Rice: had or diesel had shot up to like seven, eight dollars a gallon, maybe even 10. It was crazy. Might have been 15. I don't remember. I just knew it was a crazy price. I was scared to death. ASD got canceled that year. That was the first year I was gonna go to ASD. So, dude, I get back home and I'm finding out what's going on, and people are just going nuts. And dude, we sold through that truckload and just made buckoos of money. That was that's what threw me over. and then with that money, I found a dude up in like Tupelo, Mississippi that was selling produce, fresh produce, because none of the restaurants were wanting. They they all the restaurants were shut down. They couldn't get rid of this food. So we were going up there buying pallets of food, pennies on the dollar, man. Like just fresh stuff. You know, you a whole crate of strawberries for three bucks. And I was taking them by Zac: Well. Michael Rice: the pallet. I was bringing them back, man, 16 foot open trailers just loaded down. As soon as we dropped it at the flea market, I was doing a video, people were sharing and they were just coming and and dude. The first year, I mean, we were making three or four hundred dollars a week at this flea market before COVID. the year after COVID, like when we did our taxes that year, I asked my wife, I said, What what do you think we did? She's like, I don't know, like 50,000. We had done like 360 grand out of this flea market booth. Zac: my gosh. Michael Rice: The city tried to shut us down because we were a flea market. I had to walk the city inspector through showing them, hey, we've got food. It's in a little small community area that's like not the it's it's a poor it's a poor community. but Zac: Yeah. Michael Rice: not everybody was coming and buying because we were the only people open. We were I was I was going to Atlanta picking up the mask. I mean, so that's coven everybody says COVID was tough. It COVID either make you or break you. I mean, it it it it tore up a lot of businesses. Don't get me wrong. There's a lot of people that's that's still hurting today from the the the damage that COVID did. to their business, but there's also some of us that are so thankful that something like that hit. I I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for COVID, you know, it and and it just happened to be that one load that that, you know, just happened to hit at the right time that that kind of spawn spiraled me into other things, you know. And so man, that's that was it. That's the load that I'll tell my grandkids about, you know, like, you know, cause we didn't know what we were sitting on and freaking hand sanitizer wasn't selling and and Lysol, you know, wasn't selling and then next thing you know, you're getting fourteen dollars a can for this industrial can. I mean, you and you got the people, your price gouged and and that. I'm like, I'm literally scanning it on staples and selling it for what they're selling it for, you know. So, Zac: Yeah. Michael Rice: you know, but it's it's it's things like that that keep me going. It's it's it's those stories that that I love to hear about that I love to hear somebody, you know, going from nothing to something and And man, that's my dad asks me all the time. He's when you gonna retire? I'm man, I I love it. I love it too much right now to retire. You know, I'm I'm still I might go in tomorrow and be man, screw this, I'm done. But Yeah. But I love Zac: There's a lot of days I do that. Michael Rice: it. I love it. It excites me. So I love being able to do stuff like this and connecting and and being able to go to to ASD and stuff like that, be able to, you know, chat with the people that that have kind of helped me along through there. So Zac: Are you going A S D next is this? Michael Rice: No, I've got a big I've got a big dealer sale that Tuesday, so I'm not gonna make it. but I'd love to. Zac: Yeah. No, I'm in the same boat. I've got well, it that Home Depot deal is we have to get we're gonna sell a thousand pallets in less than three weeks. that'll be a very big project and as as fun as ASD is, I don't make any money when I go out there, so I'd rather I'm gonna stay home and we're gonna make some money. we're gonna film the whole thing, so it's gonna be a lot of fun. Michael Rice: Yeah, and I love ASD, don't get me wrong. And I've got friends that are out there that hey, you need to come out, but honestly, I'm not making any money while I'm out there. I can call you up and do a FaceTime video and you're gonna sell me the same stuff. You're paying five to ten grand for that booth that you're renting. You've got to make that money back somehow. Let's Zac: That's light. I hear the boots are like thirty to fifty. It's nuts. Michael Rice: yeah, I mean it's crazy. It let's talk. Let me talk to you before you go or after you go. because you're you're I know what you're doing out there. 'Cause I've been to trade shows and I I love setting up at trade shows because when people are there, they're there to spend money. So, you Zac: Yeah. Michael Rice: know, let's let's talk when you're slow. That's that's me because I'm a cheap guy. Zac: Not you. That's okay though. Michael Rice: Yeah. Yeah. Zac: well well man, I appreciate it. we have a lot more I know we could talk about. I say this to everybody, I'm like we didn't even like t you know, really touch the surface. and I know we'll do it again because there's a lot more to talk about. But I have I have held you twenty two minutes past the hour, I promise. So we'll end it there. But Mike Rice with Mike Rice auction and wholesale at S something s Meridian, Mississippi. I I missed the street name but Michael Rice: Mike Rice Auctions they I don't even know it anymore. It's my off day. So it's Mike Rice Auctions, Mike Rice at Mike Rice Auctions Wholesale, 1707 Fourth Street, downtown Meridian. We do we wholesale to everybody, man. We just try to help people with small businesses and we appreciate you giving me the opportunity to get on here. And I love what you're doing and many it's it's only gonna help other people. Zac: For sure. Well, follow the Holy Hustler on TikTok and Facebook and Mike, I'm sure we'll talk to you soon, man. I appreciate you. Thank you. Michael Rice: Absolutely. Thank you.